People who are creating an estate plan often have personalized goals they want to achieve via their plan. One way to move forward involves trusts, which serve as legal tools to manage assets and then distribute them according to the creator’s instructions.
Certain situations may require special trusts. Two specific situations to consider involve people who have beloved pets or valuable digital assets.
Pet trusts
Arizona law allows a trust creator to set aside funds for their pet’s care in the event that the creator becomes incapacitated or dies. These funds can be used for food, immunizations, veterinary services and other expenses related to the pet.
A trustee will oversee the trust and a caregiver will look after the pet, if one individual does not assume both roles. This arrangement provides a system of checks and balances that should give the original owner peace of mind in knowing their beloved pets will be cared for if something happens to them.
Pet trusts can include one or more pets, each of which should be identified in the trust. The trust goes into effect when the owner dies or becomes incapacitated and doesn’t terminate until all the pets that were included in the trust die.
Digital asset protection trusts
People who have valuable digital assets, such as online accounts, social media profiles, nonfungible tokens, photo storage accounts, digital currency, online entertainment collections or electronically stored documents, may benefit from a digital asset protection trust. This kind of trust trust enables the creator to designate a trusted person to handle those assets in the event of their death or incapacitation.
The creator can dictate exactly how these assets should be handled when they die. This provides the creator with a structured way to manage a digital legacy and safeguard online assets. It also provides a person who has the creator’s permission to access the accounts with the legal basis to gain that access.
Establishing trusts is only of the facets of estate planning that people in Arizona need to consider. Discussing their wishes and goals with a legal representative who’s familiar with estate planning is beneficial so they can better ensure that their wishes are clearly articulated and enforceable.